Mom Always Places Her Meat On Aluminum Foil For A Reason I Wasn't Aware Of.

kitchen by
Sasha Alonzo 3/7/2016

Prepping the perfect piece of meat can sometimes be difficult, especially when you're worried that it will come out too raw, too over cooked or just too chewy and dry. These tips will help you cook the perfect piece of meat to avoid all of worrying.

Tenderize meat with baking soda.

For every 1/2 pound (8 oz.) piece of meat sprinkle 1 tsp. of baking soda onto it and mix with the rest of the meat. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes, rinse the meat with cold water and pat dry with paper towels before beginning to cook. This works to tenderize beef, chicken and pork.

Defrost meat on aluminum foil.

You can speed up thawing time by 30 percent by placing meat on aluminum foil, which acts as a conductor and will draw heat from it's environment. This also works great for anything else that is frozen flat.

Shred a chicken in 30 seconds.

Make savory slow cooker hot wings.

This will be one of the easiest hot wing recipes you'll ever make. It will need to be cooked in the slow cooker for one hour on high with two cups of buffalo sauce covering all the meat. After one hour bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes and brush the remaining buffalo sauce on the wings. Leave in the oven until the skin is brown and crispy. For the full details find the steps here.

Use a cast iron skillet for the best steak ever.

Heat a skillet on high, season your steak (salt and pepper is really all you need), add olive oil to your pan, wait for the pan to begin smoking and place the steak on the skillet for 3-5 minutes on each side to reach your desired level of doneness.

How do you know when it's done?

Worried about whether your steak is ready? Use this handy chart to find out. Making these motions with your hand and feeling the area under your thumb will help guide you to how 'done' your steak is by comparing it to how your steak feels.

Cooling rack bacon trick.

The secret to cooking perfect bacon in the oven is using a metal cooling rack. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bacon and how crispy you want it.